Featured

Choosing Meaningful Experiences for Your Kids

Does Your Child Really Need a Tutor?

There’s nothing more discouraging to children and parents than receiving a report that your child may need help with school. Your child may feel frustrated and sad over their struggles, while you are pulling your hair out trying to decide on what to do to help.

For many parents, an elementary school, high school or junior high tutor may be the right answer. Yet you may be wondering whether your child really needs one, or whether self-tutoring will be effective and cost less. Here is some advice from someone who is not a tutor and not selling a tutoring service.

_____

Never Assume School Costs Cover Learning Hurdles

Many parents send their children to private schools yet are surprised when a teacher suggests that their child should get additional tutoring. A common complaint is that if the parents are paying high expenses for schooling already, shouldn’t the teacher be doing more to get their child up to speed? Does your child really need a tutor?

While teachers try to help children who are lagging behind, they must also move forward with their set curriculum for the rest of the class who already understands the coursework. The teacher may simply not have the time for more one-on-one teaching that a tutor can better provide, or there may not be enough staff or money available for in-school tutoring, reports Parents.

Yet, when you are at a private school that costs quite a bit, it still seems like they should have some support programs available beyond a non-profit or public school. This is something that you could consider when selecting or considering a change in schools.

Look at the Full Picture Concerning Your Child’s Problems

Don’t just see a slipping grade and automatically jump to get a tutor. There may be more going on in the child’s life that could be affecting their learning.

According to Scholastic, your child may simple be tired or even overworked by having too much to do. There could be a range of social, personal and academic problems affecting your child and causing them to have problems with their schooling. It could be a bully or too much time spent online–three are many factors to consider.

Speaking with guidance counselors, teachers and your child can help pin down the issues and figure out the best avenue to pursue for their learning.

Establish Good Homework Habits with a Required Tutor

Some parents are looking to save money for their kids by either taking on the tutoring role themselves or just dusting off some old school books so the child develops self tutoring habits. Unfortunately, this scenario may not always work in the child’s favor.

First, school curriculum changes constantly as well as teaching methods. So what you learned in school, and how you learned it, may not be the same as what the teacher is providing to their students now. A tutor not only can better keep up with the changing curriculum, but can work more closely with the child’s teachers to establish better homework guidelines and learning methods. You may simply not have the time to do this because of your job and family obligations.

Helping Your Kids with Tutoring

Obtaining an elementary school, high school or junior high tutor can help your child when they are struggling. Look for the tell-tale signs that there may be a problem: late homework assignments, avoiding reading and math activities, homework disorganization, loss of focus while in class and disruptive behavior. Once you recognize some of the signs, you can get them the right learning help they need.